Edwards County

On November 4, 1910, a mob took Antonio Rodriguez, a twenty-year-old ranch hand from Las Vacas, Mexico, from his cell in the Rocksprings jail and burned him at the stake. He had been arrested the day before, charged with killing Mrs. Lem Henderson at her ranch, and he never stood trial. The lynching set off riots against Americans in Mexico City and along the border, and Mexico's ambassador presented a claim for reparations. Secretary of State Philander Knox asked Governor Thomas Campbell for a full investigation as Mexico moved toward revolution.

What the plaque says

Edwards County Atop the Edwards Plateau, extending into the scenic Nueces Valley. Angora goat capital of the world. The economy is based on ranching. Wild game is abundant. Created in 1858 and organized 1883 from old Bexar district. Named for Haden Edwards (1813-1865), an early leader and colonizer in Texas. First county seat was Leakey; present boundaries were created, and county seat was moved on April 13, 1891, to Rocksprings. First courthouse and jail were built that year. After a fire in 1897, the present courthouse was erected; it withstood a destructive tornado that claimed 72 lives in the county in 1927. First officials to serve the county (1891-1893) as it is presently constituted were the following: James M. Hunter, County Judge; W. M. Sanford, County and District Clerk; Ira L. Wheat, Sheriff and Tax Collector; S.A. Hough, County Attorney; W.H. Cowan, County Treasurer County Commissioners: John Eaton, Precinct No. 1; C. H. Kirchner, Precinct No. 2; H. Schweithelm, Precinct No. 3; M. M. Bradford, Precinct No. 4 (1967)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area — steps away
  A 140-foot shaft into a cavern outside Rocksprings, seen only on guided tours from a platform at the rim as some three million bats spiral out on summer evenings.
• Real County Historical Museum — 33 mi
  A small county museum in Leakey, at the head of the Frio Canyon, with a log-cabin parlor, an 1880s horse-drawn hearse, a wool and mohair shearing machine and 1910s jail cells.

More markers nearby

• Rocksprings Telephone Company — steps away
• Gilmer Hotel — steps away
• First Methodist Church of Rocksprings — steps away
• First Baptist Church of Rocksprings — 0.3 mi